Spending money to make money on tech ventures. (E-Fusion Conference: ROI; Technology).

Enterprise architecture and business-technology management can help insurers understand, achieve and communicate the value of technology investments, a rigid requirement in today's economy.

"Accounting is in, and voodoo ROI is out," said Michael Fillios, senior vice president--customer operations for Enamics Inc. Fillios and Joey White, director of the property and casualty insurance practice for Perot Systems/TRC, offered tips on how to obtain a good return on investment for technology initiatives.

Measuring ROI for technology is critical because the industry is poised to spend $38 billion on technology by 2005, Fillios said, noting that enterprise architecture is key because it shows how business, processes, applications and systems are linked together.

The definition phase of establishing an enterprise architecture system--which precedes the pilot program stage--typically costs $600,000 to $1.2 million and takes three to six months to establish, White said.

RELATED ARTICLE: Unmet Expectations

According to a recent survey of 450 companies across industries, the most common reasons technology falls short of expectations are these:

* More expensive than anticipated;

* Poor visibility--no measurement of the impact of technology investments;

* Poor integration with corporate strategies;

* Lack of business management involvement;

* Ineffective communication of information technology strategy; and

* Absence of effective governance--not organized for best results.